Buonanotte sinks Bournemouth to earn Leicester first league win of season

As the offside flag went up and Jamie Vardy rued a rare Leicester second-half opening going begging, Bournemouth’s supporters were presented with the perfect window to take pleasure in the No 9’s misfortune. Vardy may not be as speedy as he once was but was quick to respond to the jeers emanating from the corner of the ground nearest to him, twisting his head towards the travelling fans with a look of bemusement before making the 1-0 scoreline with his hands. Vardy departed soon after but Facundo Buonanotte’s brilliant solo goal ultimately proved the difference.

For Steve Cooper, a welcome first Premier League win of the season. Until this, their only victory in normal time had been at home to Tranmere Rovers, a team a few places above the League Two relegation zone, in the Carabao Cup. It was far from straightforward for Leicester, who survived Bournemouth twice hitting the woodwork in the second half and Evanilson seeing a headed equaliser, from Lewis Cook’s slick free-kick, ruled out for offside.

View image in fullscreen Facundo Buonanotte with Victor Kristiansen after his goal. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters

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Buonanotte’s first-half strike was a beauty. The Brighton loanee kick-started the move a few yards inside the opposition half, playing a one-two with James Justin. Buonanotte latched on Justin’s chipped pass and after stepping inside Marcos Senesi he blasted the ball high into the roof of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s net. Carlos Tevez, Buonanotte’s manager at Rosario Central, once compared a 17-year-old Buonanotte with Lionel Messi.

Leicester’s players received a hearty applause for their efforts as they headed down the tunnel at the interval but after the restart Bournemouth ratcheted up the pressure. Four minutes into the second half Illia Zabarnyi thumped the ground in anger after sending a strong header against a post from a Cook free-kick and on 72 minutes the substitute Dango Ouattara glanced a header against the bar from a cross by another substitute, Luis Sinisterra. In between those chances, Evanilson saw his header disallowed and another effort, on the spin, blocked by Wout Faes, and the goalkeeper Mads Hermansen saved low down to his right from Ryan Christie.

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Buonanotte’s strike was a rare moment of quality for the hosts as Bournemouth peppered Leicester’s goal in the second half. Leicester came out the other end of some hairy defensive episodes and held on through five minutes of second-half stoppage time to become the first team promoted from the Championship last season to chalk up a league victory.

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